_Sam_
Kelsey
Hello everyone,
It seems that my male corn snake Sam is having issues with a respiratory infection. A few weeks ago when he was shedding, I noticed that he was making a weird sort of noise, like I could hear him exhaling. I decided to wait for him to shed to see if the noise would disappear to see if that was the cause, and it seemed like the issue was solved after he shed. Anyways, today I noticed that he was showing signs of what I saw when he had a RI a few years ago (which was treated with antibiotics). There's no gaping/mucous, but his throat sort of 'puffs' out at times, if that makes sense. He makes a noise when this happens, sort of like the same exhaling noise. He is also in blue right now, but I don't think that's the cause. Is it at all possible to treat RI's without antibiotics? I have actually been treating one of my rats for a respiratory infection since January, and unfortunately she passed away on Monday night. My bank account is near empty, and I was just wondering if there was anything else I could do.
He is normally on aspen, but today I switched him to eco earth to see if he liked that. I noticed his symptoms after I changed the bedding. His cool side is in the 70's. He has a heating pad on his warm side, and I pointed a temperature laser gun at it, and it read about 100, which I realize is too high. However, on the surface of the substrate it's about 84. I never see Sam burrow for some reason, so I don't think he ever gets that warm. He is in a 40 gallon breeder aquarium, and he is my only snake. I think the RI was caused by the horribly low humidity in our house in the winter. I put a humid hide in his cage the first time I suspected a RI, but I guess that didn't do the trick. Should I add in a heat lamp as well, or would that be way too hot? Just looking for some options, as I am in college, and my snake is actually at home 2 hours away. I come home every weekend to feed him & such, but my mom would be the one who would have to administer medications if it came to that, probably with an injection, which I know she wouldn't be comfortable with. =/
It seems that my male corn snake Sam is having issues with a respiratory infection. A few weeks ago when he was shedding, I noticed that he was making a weird sort of noise, like I could hear him exhaling. I decided to wait for him to shed to see if the noise would disappear to see if that was the cause, and it seemed like the issue was solved after he shed. Anyways, today I noticed that he was showing signs of what I saw when he had a RI a few years ago (which was treated with antibiotics). There's no gaping/mucous, but his throat sort of 'puffs' out at times, if that makes sense. He makes a noise when this happens, sort of like the same exhaling noise. He is also in blue right now, but I don't think that's the cause. Is it at all possible to treat RI's without antibiotics? I have actually been treating one of my rats for a respiratory infection since January, and unfortunately she passed away on Monday night. My bank account is near empty, and I was just wondering if there was anything else I could do.
He is normally on aspen, but today I switched him to eco earth to see if he liked that. I noticed his symptoms after I changed the bedding. His cool side is in the 70's. He has a heating pad on his warm side, and I pointed a temperature laser gun at it, and it read about 100, which I realize is too high. However, on the surface of the substrate it's about 84. I never see Sam burrow for some reason, so I don't think he ever gets that warm. He is in a 40 gallon breeder aquarium, and he is my only snake. I think the RI was caused by the horribly low humidity in our house in the winter. I put a humid hide in his cage the first time I suspected a RI, but I guess that didn't do the trick. Should I add in a heat lamp as well, or would that be way too hot? Just looking for some options, as I am in college, and my snake is actually at home 2 hours away. I come home every weekend to feed him & such, but my mom would be the one who would have to administer medications if it came to that, probably with an injection, which I know she wouldn't be comfortable with. =/